Big Data Adoption Slow, but Benefits Beginning to Show

80% of US execs say investment in big data is at least "good"

Big data is gradually becoming a part of US business, and companies that are able to take advantage of its scope and complexity appear to be seeing benefits. Recent research from NewVantage Partners revealed that at least half of organizations are incorporating some type of big data initiative.

Top executives in the US appear to be optimistic about big data's value. For example, this week, Forbes reported Wal-Mart's launch of its "Data Café," an analytics hub poised to process 2.5 petabytes of data every hour.

In the NewVantage survey, 80% of the decisions-makers said that their overall investment in big data has been at the very least good and moderately successful or better. Fifty senior Fortune 1000 business and technology decision-makers in the US were surveyed about managing and maintaining big data throughout November and December 2016.

These executives are reportedly locking into big data by assigning initiatives tied to revamping their business for the future (51.6%) and lowering costs (72.6%), among other business needs, the NewVantage data shows. According to the data, more than half of respondents said they are implementing a particular type of big data initiative.

And some of these efforts are already showing progress. Roughly half of executives said reducing expenses through big data has been successful. Meanwhile, more than 44% of respondents also touted gains related to creating new avenues for innovation , and over a third mentioned big data's value in product launches.

Not all areas business people were polled on got high marks. Of the big data initiatives executives were asked about, establishing a data-driven culture and making over their business for the future had the lowest success rates, both at 27.9%.